Historically, and throughout the pages of Scripture, places of worship have been places of refuge for communities experiencing harassment or danger from the society-at-large. Places of worship provide safety for the people feeling threatened by policies or actions by the state that would harm their families and significantly disrupt their lives. (Christian Fuchs — Jesuit Refugee Service/USA)

view the letter here

Places of worship must remain safe and sacred spaces where all families can engage in their respective faith traditions without fear of harassment or monitoring by immigration officials.

(Washington, D.C.) January 29,
2016 — Jesuit Refugee Service/USA has joined more than 90 faith-based
organizations and faith leaders in calling on President Obama to immediately
halt Department of Home Security raids aimed at rounding up Central American asylum-seeking
families and deporting them back to the danger they have been seeking to
escape.

JRS/USA and
the other groups, in a letter to the president, say they are particularly concerned
that DHS is conducting raids at sensitive locations like places of worship, schools, health
clinics and hospitals. The group is asking the president for assurance that places
of worship remain free of DHS immigration enforcement activities.

"As leaders of faith, we have
witnessed first-hand the deep anxieties these tactics have sparked in
communities of immigrants across our nation, particularly as word of the arrest
of young children and parents has spread throughout the community,” the letter
says. “The administration’s actions are sowing fear and trauma. Our faith communities are unanimous in the
view that these raids must end.”

The
group says immigrant communities have been
adversely impacted by the behavior of DHS employees who have “over-stepped the
bounds of decency” by targeting churches and temples, schools and mosques,
domestic violence shelters, emergency healthcare clinics and hospitals with
immigration enforcement actions.

"The recent raids have paralyzed
communities who fear sending their children to school, to taking them for
immunizations at clinics, attending worship services, and even putting them to
bed at night,” the letter says. “No one is made safer when communities fear
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. These
invasive actions and the fear they have caused must end.”

Historically, and throughout the
pages of Scripture, places of worship have been places of refuge for
communities experiencing harassment or danger from society-at-large. Places
of worship provide safety for people who feel threatened by policies or
actions by the state that would harm their families and significantly disrupt
their lives.

Regarding places of worship as places of sanctuary also allows the
rest of society to pause and reflect on these policies and their implementation and to seek more humane policies that truly protect all of society, including
those experiencing persecution.

“We fully expect DHS to respect this important and historic
boundary and to not enter our places of worship seeking to detain or deport
immigrants or harass our parishioners at or on their way to worship or on their
way home from worship,” the groups say. "Places
of worship must remain safe and sacred spaces where all families can engage in
their respective faith traditions without fear of harassment or monitoring by
immigration officials."